History

Paws-a-bilities was formed in 2008 by JoAnne Blackstone and her mother, Kris Mathieson.  Pet lovers and firm believers in the importance of rescued pets, both women worked tirelessly to create a concept of an artistic homemade, high-quality product that would serve the needs of pet parents and support the efforts of local shelters. Ms. Blackstone has a rescued beagle of her own, and had sewn a tote bag to carry her boy's car harness, leash and water bottle for trips to the doggy park or pet hotel.  This tote bag served as the beginning of what evolved into beautifully-crafted lined tote bags that are the basis of Paws-a-bilities products. 

From there, people were so taken with the colorful totes, Jo and Kris developed additional products to help Pet Parents show off their love of animals. Now there's a whole line of Purrses and accessories that no pet-loving home should be without.

Plus, for those of you who have lost a dear furried friend, or know someone who has, they've developed special Comfort Bags to help ease the pain of the loss.

All of our one-of-a-kind products are hand-made in New Mexico by Jo and Kris, and lovingly checked out by Jo's product testers, Joey and Lucky. A lot of love goes into every item and with every purchase a donation is made to a local animal shelter.

JoAnne Blackstone

Ms. Blackstone has her MA in Journalism and her BA in Public Relations and Communications. She spent several years moving across the country working for CBS news affiliates as a news anchor and reporter. Upon returning to her home state of New Mexico, Ms. Blackstone entered the world of marketing and special event planning for non-profit organizations and architectural/engineering firms. With a strong public relations and marketing foundation, she has found her calling as the owner of Paws-a-bilities.  When she’s not busy sewing, she’s out-and-about talking to people about her business, or with her beloved beagle, Joey..

Kris Mathieson

Ms. Mathieson is the creative director and co-founder of Paws-a-bilities.  She spent more than 30 years as an executive editor and graphic designer and always found solace in her sewing machine. She was instrumental in creating the design of the original Paws-a-bilities tote bags, and continues to evolve the creative side of the company through innovative design solutions.

Joey Beagle Blackstone

Joey is the 'old soul' of the family even though he's only six years old. He is fond of reminding Mom that he actually rescued her, and not the other way around! (Mom couldn't agree more.) The self-appointed protector of the family, Joey tends to be pretty serious. But, Mom has seen him playing heartily with the rattle clatter mouse from the Kitty Karry-all bags (and his brother Lucky, but he won't admit it)!

Lucky Blackstone

The newest member of our family, Lucky truly earned his name after being rescued from a friend's dryer vent! He was only a few weeks old, but very quickly became one of the family. He LOVES Joey, and you can tell that the feeling is quite mutual! They play together, sleep together and are very content to share their toys with each other. What a lucky cat!

If you would like more information on Paws-a-bilities, or have questions or comments,    we would love to hear from you!

You can email us at:  info@paws-a-bilities.com - or call us at: (303) 942-1789.